Bach: Cantata No. 60 “Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten” / Nikolaus Harnoncourt
This cantata was written for alto and tenor. It was premiered in Leipzig on November 7, 1723, the 24th Sunday after Trinity. The first duet piece, “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort” is a choral fantasia in dialogue form, with the alto singing “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort Herr” and the tenor responding “Herr, ich warte auf dein Heil”. The two oboes add a parallel melody on the bass orgel punkt and the tremolo played by the strings. The chorale melody is overlaid by a corno (taille on the CD). The next piece, recitative of the dialogue between alto (fear) and tenor (hope) becomes an arioso at the end of the piece. The duet aria “Mein letztes Lager will mich schrecken” is sung by the oboe d’amore and violin obbligato. The oboe d’amore plays a dotted-note melody while the violins intertwine in a slurred scale pattern. The alto and tenor dialogue seem like a rather intense battle. In the following recitative, the bass (Jesus) joins in and dialogues with the alto. The alto sings the recitative secco, the bass sings arioso. The piece ends with the chorale “Es ist genug” solemnly. #baroque #bach #cantata #片山俊幸
